As soon as visitors open the door of poet Maironis apartment, a Lithuanian plucked string musical instrument called Kanklės starts playing, and one can hear the melody of the song of Juozas Naujalis “Dear Lithuania” (Lithuanian: “Lietuva brangi”) the lyrics of which was written by Maironis. Exquisite antique furniture, red velvet couches, bookcases full of rare books, ornate clocks, sculptures, paintings, and portrayed Maironis himself greets a visitor, and he or she feels welcomed at Maironis memorial apartment. The grand living-room is decorated with ornaments by the artist Tadas Daugirdas. The work-office was likely to be decorated in Art Deco style. The red salon is the room that has retained the rococo style. A middle-aged poet returned to this mansion from St. Petersburg after working as a well-paid lecturer at St. Petersburg Spiritual Academy for 15 years. He purchased and renovated this huge mansion, and in autumn of 1910, he finally moved in. He settled in eight rooms of the second floor. The majority of the furniture and pieces of art was likely to be brought by Maironis from St. Petersburg, and some others were bought from local craftsmen. Maironis communicated with many artists and bought their paintings and sculptures, he also ordered valuable reproductions of world-famous artists. Marcelė Marčiulytė, the sister of Maironis, lived together with the poet and was an excellent housekeeper. She looked after her brother and the poet himself was able to create. They together provided education for their sister’s Kotryna children. Other relatives, Maironis nephews, and nieces, also used to live in the mansion. It is claimed that there used to be a great uproar there since young relatives were fond of opening the ante-room door and listen to Kanklės. The poet lived in the mansion until his death. The poet liked to write poems looking at the rising sun in early mornings. With his head resting on his hand, gazing out of the window at Rotušės square, he used to refine the lines of his poems to perfection. While living in the mansion, Maironis created a plethora of great poems, his ballads ‘Čičinskas’ and ‘Jūratė and Kastytis’, several historical dramas, “Kęstučio Mirtis” (The Death of Kęstutis), “Vytautas pas Kryžiuočius” (Vytautas with the Crusaders), and “Didysis Vytautas Karalius” (King Vytautas the Great), and other fictional and science works. The house of the poet was attended not only by relatives but also by political and society figures, representatives of the Church, scientists, and artists. Hundreds of the visit cards of all guests with warm regards or invitations to various events, concerts, exhibitions, or tree planting festivals are kept in the archive. The mansion, where the museum was founded in 1936, was built by connecting the foundation of the three gothic houses. The gothic cellars of this house dating the 15th-16th centuries are one of the oldest in the town and have retained their shape to this day. During the several centuries of its existence, this mansion performed various functions and had a lot of owners. After the war of 1812, the house served as a hospital. During the suppression of the rebellion of 1863, the court-martial was established here, and the cellar was turned into the prison where the spiritual leader, priest Antanas Mackevičius, was imprisoned and later sentenced to death. When Maironis settled in the mansion, the first floor of it was reserved for the cultural fellowships of Lithuania: here was the editorial office of the publishing house “Sakalas”, a trade school, the first public library in Kaunas, and a reading-room.